Hatch Act Probe Widens

It's been clear for awhile now that the biggest of the issues facing embattled GSA Administrator Lurita Doan is the potential for Hatch Act violations stemming from a briefing conducted by a White House aide for political appointees at the agency. Now, not only have two senators jumped on the bandwagon and called for Doan's resignation (saying the meeting "crossed the line"), but the Washington Post reports that the Office of Special Counsel is expanding its probe of the briefing to look generally at whether White House actions have violated the Hatch Act. (The Los Angeles Times also reports on the expanded probe.)

Right now, it seems there are two ways this cuts for Doan:

• She becomes even more of a liability for the administration, because her actions led to a wider probe that could be very embarassing for the White House.
• It actually helps her, because a wider OSC investigation deflects attention away from her actions to what kinds of briefings the White House was holding at other agencies, and whether Bush staffers' actions crossed the line.

For now, it's worth noting that, as GovExec's Daniel Pulliam has reported, the White House is rather pointedly not availing itself of the opportunity to issue a statement of support for Doan -- as the president has done for Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and other embattled officials.